A city built on a huge cave - The Sassi and the Park of the Rupestrian Churches of Matera 670
What and Why
The sassi (singular sasso), meaning 'rock' in Italian, of Matera is often described as the most unique and picturesque landscapes in Europe, and this is no understatement. While one might imagine an inhabited cave since the Paleolithic age would look derelict and ugly, the Matera landscape is definitely one of the most stunning during my recent trip. According to the museum, the sassi is home to probably the first Italians and these people have been continuously living there since 7th millennium BCE with their livelihood harmoniously integrated into the natural terrain and ecosystem.
Basically the settlements are either rock caves built into the huge rock itself, or in the more recent forms built onto the sassi itself, morphing into an unbelievably captivating landscape. The entire sassi has become a massive town, but while it is a big rocky hill, incredibly walking around the entire rock mount is a very comfortable and easy. The area comprises of a complex of houses, churches, hermitages and of course modern shops and restaurants built into the natural caves. To walk around the entire sassi, or the sassi caveoso, it took us roughly only two hours at a moderate pace without stopping.
Toponymy
The name Matera derives from 'mater', meaning 'mother' with origin in Latin.
See
Sassi
The sassi itself is the main draw. The entire mount is roughly divided into the northern Sasso Barisano (meaning 'facing Bari') and the southern Sasso Caveoso (meaning 'of the cave'). As mentioned the huge sassi is a massive web of small winding alleys. The ancient town grew up on this mount and is bordered by a small running ravine. We followed the plan above starting from where we stayed.
By the way you might probably recognise the landscape from the recent Wonder Woman movie, and even more recently No Time to Die.
Then you go winding up and down the rocky mount through the various alleys and staircases. Enjoy the landscape during the casual walk, especially while walking downslope...
In a way, everything seems connected here: Buildings climb up, down and through the hill, houses piled on top of each other, the roofs serve as streets for those below and above... The entire hill is a massive Escherian maze by itself, with fresh water supplied from a reservoir through the mountain into the sassi. Our troop finds it fun to walk around and they went on another morning hike themselves the following day, exploring the jungle piece by piece.
Climbing up and down the alleys...
Near the main plaza...
All these alleys converge towards Via Lucana and then the main piazza Piazzetta Pascoli, where you will find the ultimate belvedere of photographing the sassi, as below. The view is stunningly spectacular especially during evening when the entire sassi starts to light up under the evening haze.
The photogenic view from the belvedere. Stunning and unmissable.
Although it often takes a long time to wait for a spot at the belvedere.
While all seems to look good and nice now, some of the caves, especially the smaller ones had been deserted and one can wander through uninhabited caves and get a sense of what it was like to live here years ago, giving us a less artificial feel.
Across the ravine, there are still left with some Neolithic caves. We did not venture there, as it involves a full day of hike, but we zoomed in using our Iphones.
Cave Museum (Casa Grotta nei Sassi)
The cozy museum Cave Museum (Italian: Casa Grotta nei Sassi) tells the history and livelihood in the sassi. It actually says until the early 1980s CE the livelihoods inside the sassi had not changed much, and the sassi had been a symbol of poverty, and it only changed until fairly recently due to the tourist boom.
One of the incredible things shown in the museum was that the residents usually share the cave houses with their cattle and farm animals! Imagine the smell back then.
Cave Church of Saint Peter (Chiesa di San Pietro Caveoso)
There are a number of rupestrian (rock-hewn) churches integrated into the big rock. The first one that we visited was the Cave Church of Saint Peter (Chiesa di San Pietro Caveoso).
Inside the church.
Church of Saint Francis of Assisi (Chiesa di San Francesco d'Assisi)
A classy church, Church of Saint Francis of Assisi (Chiesa di San Francesco d'Assisi) sits in the town square.
Church of Saint Mary of Idris (Chiesa Santa Maria de Idris)
Another rupestrian church, the Church of Saint Mary of Idris (Chiesa Santa Maria de Idris) is apparently the landmark church in Matera as it isolates itself in the middle of a small mount in the sassi. Easily viewed and accessible from the belvedere.
The church dates back to the 15th century CE and is part of a rock complex, and naturally has a very irregular plan. It is characterised by two distinct parts: one built and one excavated.
Matera Cathedral (Duomo di Matera)
Officially the Cattedrale di Santa Maria della Bruna e di Sant'Eustachio, the Matera Cathedral (Duomo di Matera) was built in the 13th century CE and with its 90-m tower, the modest Baroque-church stands out in the Matera skyline, making it the highest point of the entire sassi, especially from the view of the belvedere.
The church was dedicated to Saint Eustace (Latin: Eustachius), a much revered Christian martyr during the 2nd century CE. The piazza in front of the church, piazza duomo, gives another stunning view of the sassi from another angle.
Eat and Drink
Orecchiette alla materana
We had a wonderful dinner at the Michelin-recommended Baccanti restaurant, which is itself built inside the cave. Better still it is just a minute walk from our hotel. The food and service is absolutely fantastic and everyone must try the local orecchiette alla materana (little ear-shaped pasta) and the local bread. The ricotta is also well served here. By the way ricotta literally means 'recooked' in Italian as it is made from leftover whey from other cheeses. We had a wonderful first dinner in Italy (Italia).
Crapiata
Another local dish we tried was the crapiata. Definitely not crap, it is actually a peasant soup or sometimes gravy with chickpeas, beans, broad beans, wheat, lentils and potatoes. Apparently this dish dates back to the Roman Empire (Latin: Imperium Romanum) period!
Matera bread (Pane di Matera)
One of the specialties in many restaurants is the Matera bread (pane di Matera), which is a big loaf of bread made of durum wheat, and usually fermented to an irregular shape. The bread's history dates back to the Kingdom of Naples (Latin: Regnum Neapolitanum) times. The bread features three incisions, symbolising the holy trinity.
Stay
Try to stay in one of the cave hotels, which we did. The cave-dug rooms offer a pleasantly cool microclimate under a unique environment. We stayed in the La Dodici Lune (meaning 'Twelve Moons'), in which we enjoyed extremely. The rooms and its service were truly good value for money. Highly recommended.
Getting There and Around
We drove to Matera from Alberobello which is around one hour away. The problem of transportation in Matera is the sassi itself. The alleys are narrow and winding and prohibit entry of bigger vehicles, which was our van. So we had to park our car outside the sassi, paid the stupid ZTL (Zona a traffico limitato) fare and took two taxis to get to our hotel. More so, when we reached the hotel location, we had to carry our luggages on two full flights of stairs for around five storeys to reach our hotel. Being the only man in the troop, I became the porter of all luggages. Many of the hotels, including ours, are located off the access roads and hence take note of this when booking the hotel.
We recommend at least two or three days for the site.
UNESCO Inscription
This is the most outstanding, intact example of a troglodyte settlement in the Mediterranean region, perfectly adapted to its terrain and ecosystem. The first inhabited zone dates from the Palaeolithic, while later settlements illustrate a number of significant stages in human history. Matera is in the southern region of Basilicata.
References
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